Tuesday, June 21, 2011

✍ FYI: Google "Doodle" Logos

Every so often Google comes up with some pretty neat logos called 'Doodle' logos, that I find not only artistic and entertaining but lots of times, educational. But have you ever wondered where those logos go to after they've been used? Who created them - is it just one person or a group? Can anyone create a doodle logo or do you have to work for Google?

Doodle History

Over the years, doodles on the Google homepage have made searching on Google
more fun and enjoyable for its users worldwide. When doodles were first created,
nobody had anticipated how popular and integral they would become to the Google
search experience. Nowadays, many users excitedly anticipate the release of each
new doodle and some even collect them! Doodles are known as the decorative changes that are made to the Google logo
to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists and
scientists. Whether it is the beginning of Spring, Albert Einstein's birthday,
or the 50th anniversary of
understanding DNA, the doodle team never fails to find artistic ways to
celebrate these unique events. Having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from
time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is a part of the
brand. While the doodle is primarily a fun way for the company to recognize
events and notable people, it also illustrates the creative and innovative
personality of the company itself.

'stick figure doodle logo'

In 1998, the concept of the doodle was born when Google founders Larry and
Sergey played with the corporate logo to indicate their attendance at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert.
A stick figure drawing
was placed behind the 2nd "o" in the word, Google and the revised logo was
intended as a comical message to Google users that the founders were “out of
office.” While the first doodle was relatively simple, the idea of decorating
the company logo to celebrate notable events was well received by their users.

Over time, the demand for doodles quickly rose both in the U.S. and
internationally. Creating doodles is now the responsibility of a team of talented designers. For them, creating doodles has
become a team effort to enliven the Google homepage and bring smiles to a myriad
of Google users worldwide:

Republic Day - (Italy)

Birthday of Ibn Khaldun - (Middle Eastern Countries)

Israel Independence Day - (Israel)

Queen's Day - (Netherlands)

Lantern Festival - (China)

﻿﻿

Korean Liberation Day - (Korea)

Canada Day - (Canada)

Australia Day - (Australia)

Russian Victory Day - (Russia)

Children's Day - (Japan)

Brasil Independence Day - (Brazil)

Swiss National Day - (Switzerland)

'Five Wonders of Britain' by Katherine Chisnall - (United Kingdom)

Fat Thursday - (Poland)

Malaysia Independence Day - (Malaysia)

Bastille Day - (France)

Mărţişor - (Romania)

Reunification Day - (Germany)

Philippine Declaration of Independence - (Philippines)

Saudi Arabia's National Day - (Saudi Arabia)

Atomium - (Belgium)

Holi Festival - (India)

Happy Halloween - (United States)

Those were a few designs from different years just to give you an idea, but there are TONS more from even more countries such as Turkey, Spain, Lithuania, Venezuela, Sweden, Mexico, Slovakia, Thailand, etc. Even those animated ones we often see. You can even submit your own doodle ideas to google! The doodle team has created over 300 doodles for Google.com in the United States
and over 700 have been designed internationally.

Who chooses what doodles will be created and how do they
decide which events will receive doodles?

A group of Googlers regularly get together to decide the events and holidays
that will receive doodles. The ideas for the doodles themselves are gathered
from numerous sources including Googlers and the general public. The doodle
selection process aims to celebrate interesting events and anniversaries that
reflect Google's personality and love for innovation. They are aware that the list
of doodles is not exhaustive, but they try to select doodles that show creativity
and innovation.

Who designs the doodles?There is a team of designers that are behind
the doodles you see on Google.com.

How can Google users/the public submit ideas for doodles?The doodle team is open to user ideas; requests for doodles can be sent to proposals@google.com. The team receives
numerous requests so even if we do not get back to you about your request,
please know that we do look at and consider all the requests that are submitted.

So if you want to view these and many, many more wonderful doodle logos, just go to google.com/logos.